Sacramento State receives Presidential-level recognition for community outreach programs

Sacramento State has been named to the 2008 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll by the Corporation for National and Community Service. The award was announced Monday, Feb. 9 at the 91st annual meeting of the American Council on Education, in Washington, D.C.

The Honor Roll, which began in 2006, recognizes colleges and universities nationwide that support innovative and effective community service and service-learning programs. It is the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning, and civic engagement, and is only given to a few institutions each year.

“This is a tremendous honor because the University prides itself on being an integral part of the community and providing programs that embrace the diversity of its students,” says Sheila Macias, administrative director of Sacramento State’s Community Engagement Center. “The Honor Roll recognizes the great work going on around campus in the variety of disciplines.”

“We have worked hard to strengthen our campus’s connection to the Sacramento area,” says Sacramento State President Alexander Gonzalez.
“The majority of our students come from this region, and after they graduate, they use the education and practical experiences they gained here to become the leaders who guide the future of their communities.”

Sacramento State’s application for the award highlighted the University’s involvement in a number of on- and off-campus community engagement programs including the Ethnic Studies Department’s 65th Street Corridor project, Engineers Without Borders, Project P.L.A.Y. (Play-orientated Lifetime Activities for Youth), Student Activities, the Bilingual/Multicultural Education Department, the College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) and the Community Engagement Center. The list also included the Recreation, Parks and Tourism Administration and the College of Education’s Urban Teacher Education Center.

The Honor Roll is sponsored by the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation and the U.S. Departments of Education and Housing and Urban Development.

For more information on the honor roll, contact Macias at (916) 278-4610. For media assistance, contact the Sacramento State Public Affairs office at (916) 278-6156.